No, I haven't looked at crate motors yet. Again, I'm trying to not end up with a bunch of "leftover'extra" stuff. As far as the machine shop expenses go, The cost of getting the stock crank turned, if necessary, plus balancing, plus reconditioning the rods, plus mounting the pistons, VS a new rotating assembly is what I'm going to have to balance out. The over bore, plus any notching that may be necessary will also figure into the cost. As a comparison, my 68 289 motor with the above kit, is performing fine for me, and I am happy with the performance return on the dollar investment. Other than that huge effing headache with valve train geometry. I kind of think that For the W, I would be similarly happy. However, the 69 has always been the hotrod in the group, and I want to ensure that it stays that way. So I'm still leaning towards the 393/408. I mean, if the cost of a balanced rotating assembly is within a hundred or so of reconditioning the original parts, and the block work cost is the same, then the choice is obvious. The retro roller is an expensive choice, but worth it over time. I like the comp kits, as they sell you everything at once.
I should stop typing now, as I have been on shift for 18 hours, and am starting to ESP more info here than actually typeing in....